Replete with specially commissioned artwork, this lively study assesses the effectiveness of the various weapons equipping the Civil War cavalryman and the decisions made concerning the armament of the US cavalry after 1865.
Zhuk provides a concise historical summary and a discussion of important construction details before going on to describe 1080 revolvers and 1320 pistols, identified by more than 2600 individual drawings
Although Western societies cannot escape from images of famine in the present world, their direct experience with widespread hunger has receded into the past. England was one of the very first countries to escape from the shadow of famine and in this volume, a team of distinguished economic, social, and demographic historians analyze why. The contributors combine detailed local studies of individual communities, broader analyses of the impact of hunger and disease, and methodological discussions that explore the effect of crisis mortality on early modern societies. The essays examine the complex interrelationships among past demographic, social, and economic structures, and demonstrate that the impact of hunger and disease can provide a unique vehicle for an exploration of early modern society.
Nearly 2 million had been manufactured by the end of the First World War, and the gun remained in production right up until the last days of the Third Reich in 1945. An engaging history, not overly complicated by technical details, this updated edition will appeal to the collectors and readers of military history alike.
This is the absorbing story of the handguns credited to Nambu Kijiro, the principal personal-defence weapons of the Imperial forces. Featuring full-color artwork and carefully chosen photographs, this book charts the origins, development, combat use, and legacy of the Nambu pistols. Cutaway artwork reveals the inner workings of these important handguns, while specially commissioned battlescenes depict them in use in action. Influenced by the German C 96 and other semi-automatic pistols, the first Nambu model was never accepted for universal issue, being confined largely to purchase by Japanese officers. Adopted in 1925, the 14th Year Type was to become the best-known of these handguns, serving in every campaign undertaken by the Japanese in the 1930s and then throughout World War II. It served alongside the bizarrely conceived Type 94, intended as the weapon of airmen, tank crew, and anyone to whom its compact dimensions were useful. When World War II ended, thousands of Nambu pistols arrived in America with US veterans of World War II, while others were carried by insurgents and other armed groups across South East Asia for decades after 1945. Fully illustrated, this is the engrossing story of these distinctive pistols, from their origins to their legacy.
While the PP and PPK were intended for police work, the Walther P 38 was produced for the Germany military; all three pistols have garnered a formidable international reputation since the 1930s.The innovative Walther PP (Polizeipistole), a double-action semi-automatic pistol intended for the law-enforcement market, became available in 1929 and went on to arm the police of several European countries in the 1930s. Its smaller cousin the PPK, more readily concealed for undercover work but with reduced magazine capacity, was produced from 1931. Intended to replace the P 08 Luger, the Walther P 38 was issued from 1940 and equipped the armed forces of Germany and other countries during and after World War II, but never entirely replaced the Luger in German service. All three pistols went on to have lengthy and varied service across the world after 1945. Both the PP and the PPK remain in production today, while the P 38 re-emerged as the P1 and equipped West German forces from 1963 until 2004, when it was replaced by the P8. In this study, noted authority John Walter assesses the origins, development, use and legacy of these three high-profile semi-automatic pistols, alongside other Walther variants, such as the tiny .25 ACP Modell 9.
A unique overview of sniping throughout the First and Second World War. Draws on a breadth of material, including the first-hand testimonies of over fifty snipers. Appended with the complete diary of the celebrated Russian WWII sniper, Roza Shanina.
Fully illustrated, this absorbing study explores the evolving sniping technology and tactics employed by both sides in Asia and the Pacific during 1941–45. During World War II, both the Japanese and their Allied opponents made widespread use of snipers armed with a variety of rifles, scopes and accessories and prepared by widely differing levels of training and tactical doctrine. The challenges of fighting in a variety of harsh environments, from the Pacific islands to the vast expanses of China, prompted improvisation and innovation on both sides in the ongoing war between snipers and their adversaries. Often operating at relatively close ranges in restrictive terrain, snipers made particularly ingenious use of camouflage and deception as the fighting spread across Asia and the Pacific in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack, while troops tasked with countering enemy marksmen had to learn the hard way how best to defeat a seemingly invisible enemy. Small arms expert John Walter considers the strengths and limitations of the rifles, scopes and accessories deployed by Japanese snipers and their Allied counterparts, as well as their different approaches to sniping tactics and training. Specially commissioned artwork and carefully chosen photographs illustrate this enthralling study of the sniping war in Asia and the Pacific during World War II.
The armies of the Third Reich were a formidable foe for the Allied forces - largely thanks to the effectiveness of their equipment and weaponry. In this first-class book, renowned firearms expert John Walter examines the full range of guns used from the commercially successful Walter PP and PPK, to the double-action, personal defence pistols Mauser HSc and Sauer M38. Walter also considers the value of weapons that were captured and then used, by the Wehrmacht and the police. Thoroughly researched and illustrated with fascinating examples, this comprehensive reference book covers all significant aspects of design and employment, including data for each weapon on length, weight, barrel, magazine and muzzle velocity. This is an indispensable resource on a compelling subject.
